Mikey's Big Heart
by jade's midnight
Summary: Mikey was just coming home with some pizzas when he hears crying. What he finds makes him cry too. And that's just the start. What will happen when one of the brothers lose the ability to speak forever? Will the turtles be able to survive this? Or is this just too much for our beloved mutants. Rating moved to T due to some heavy angst, some language, heavy topics, and some gore.
1. NOTICE! PLEASE READ! MEGA IMPORTANT

_**Hello readers. I am indeed back after a very long absence. I am putting this here to let you know that I am rewriting both "Mikey's big heart" and "At the stroke of 12: Alex's story". I went back and realized that I'm not happy with my stories. Some of the stories will still be the same, with only minor changes in old chapter. There is also gonna be huge changes in other chapters. I don't know if I'll just put them under a new story or just delete the old chapters in the story I have already written and keep it so that you dont have to refollow the story. I think the latter is what Imma do. This is a heads up before the chapters are deleted and redone. Love you guys SOOOOOO MUCH! Thanks for the support.**_


	2. Chapter One

**_For those of you who haven't read this before I redid it, this story started as a one-shot drabble that wouldn't leave me alone and became a story. I have thought it over and I think I'm gonna make it into a sequel. I wanna focus more on mikey and raph's development in this story, so this one will be more of a family one, and the sequel will be the romance on. And no, its not a mikey/ raph story. There will be oc for that . Thanks for the support those who read this before. Hope you like the new version of it. Love you guys! :)_**

 ** _3RD PERSON POV_**

Mikey was walking home with a large armful of pizzas when he had heard crying in the alley he was in. It sounded like a little girl and was slightly stifled. He was worried if he investigated, his appearance would cause more issues than solve them. But the sobs he heard made his compassion override his caution and wrenched his heart. He puts the pizzas on the dumpster near the spot where he had heard the crying. He peers around the corner and sees this little girl crying. He walks closer cautiously, hoping he wouldn't scare the little girl too badly.

She seemed to be 5, maybe 6 years of age with bright blond hair that could be seen peeping out from underneath the blood, grime, and trash matted in it. She doesn't even look at Mikey as he approaches her. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, and her head buried in the crooks of her arms, sobbing. Her clothes tattered and bloody, smeared with dirt like her hair. Mikey continues to scoot closer very slowly, not wanting to scare her.

Suddenly the little girl looks up at him, her crystal blue, tear-filled eyes was meeting his forest green. Despair and pain filled the depths of these little eyes, though surprisingly not showing a lot of fear at seeing a huge mutant turtle in front of her. Mikey feels his heart reach out to this little girl.

"Hey" he whispers softly so not to startle her. "What's wrong?"

The little girl's eyes fill with more tears as she casts her eyes toward the ground, silent for a moment. Finally she speaks up, tears streaming down her face, leaving more tracks in the muck and blood caked on her face. With a shaky voice the girl answers his question.

"Mommy and Daddy are dead". She hiccups, burying her head into her arms again.

 ** _MIKEY'S POV_**

I look at the little girl crying and I feel tears welling up in my own eyes. Its such a sad sight. I can tell she was living on the street with her parents due to the amount of dirt and gunk on her skin. I had this overwhelming need to just grab her in my arms and hold her tight, not letting the world hurt this little, innocent soul again...

So...

I did...

 ** _LITTLE GIRL'S POV_**

I feel arms wrap themselves around me and being drawn against someone. I knew it was the turtle, and this meant that he was more than just a part of my imagination. But instead of feeling scared, I felt safe. I miss my mommy and daddy, and knew that they were dead. Being six, I understand that when I saw them getting shot in the chest meant that they weren't alive anymore. That they wouldn't be able to hold me at night anymore when I got scared or had a nightmare. They wouldn't be able tell me a bedtime story so i would go to sleep or sing me the lullaby my mommy and daddy made up just for me. They wouldn't be saving up the little money they got just to buy me something special as a surprise anymore.

The memories are so strong that I can't hold back anymore. So I bury myself against the big turtle man with the orange thing around his eyes and cried my heart out. Mourning that my mama and papa were in heaven now.

 ** _3RD PERSON POV_**

Mikey feels the little girl's tears on his chest and only holds her closer, tighter, comforting her. While doing so he sees two bodies not far from where he had found this little girl.

" _Her parents"_ Mikey thinks to himself. He sees the bullet holes in their chests and the blood spilling from their wounds, making a red pool around the two. Obviously they had been killed not to long ago for the blood was still wet, but long enough for flies to start swarming around their bodies. He finally smells the stench of blood and death, and his heart breaks, knowing that this little girl had probably watched her own parents being killed. While the little girl cries against him, Mikey pulls out his shell phone and send a text to his brothers to come meet him in the alley not far from the pizza place, that it was an emergency. After finishing the text, he just curls his body around the little girl, as if to absorb her pain and shield her from the world.

He mutters comforting words to her, using one hand to smooth her hair in a soothing manner. When her sobs finally calm down, Mikey asks her what her name was in a soft and gentle voice.

"Marie," she answers, her voice strained from all the crying.

"My name is Ann Marie."

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _ **Writting this again after so long made me almost cry again. Its so sad. For those who didnt read this when i first wrote this story,**_ ** _I was re watching the 2003 tmnt and was at the episode where Mikey saves klunk and all the toys for that orphanage and I got to thinking, "what is Mikey really did find a little girl with no home, no parents, and people who would probably want her dead since she was a witness?" I saw mikey as the most compassionate in the 2003 version, you know, all heart. So here it is. Hope you enjoyed this story. Love you guys._**


	3. Chapter two

_**XXX: So here is the second revised chapter. Hope you like it. XXX:**_

Leo didn't even argue about taking Ann Marie home when he saw the scene. Mikey's brothers had been worried when they received the text and used the battle-shell to rush over here. Leo and the others had though Michelangelo was in danger. So they were quite shocked to see Mikey rocking a sleeping child in his arms. Mikey picks up the little girl and puts her in the van, using the spare blankets and pillows they had in there to make her comfortable. He does this without saying a word. His brothers just watching in shock at the mature-like Mikey. They wait for an explanation as Mikey walks over to the two corpse that had lain a few feet away from where Mikey had just sat. Mikey tries to look for clues as to what happened and why. But the minute he saw the gun wounds and blood, he ran to the dumpster and threw up. The pizzas on the lid forgotten and cold long ago. Mikey's brothers took the visibly shaken Mikey as their que to help. Leo and Raph checking the surroundings for clues as Donny checks the bodies.

"Find anything?" Leo asks his purple-masked brother, not finding anything of importance in his search. Mikey was still retching in the background. Don examines the bodies, putting on a pair of gloves so not to contaminate the crime scene. No point in making the cops' job harder.

"Both died due to multiple bullets in the head and heart. Looks like they really upset whoever killed them." Donny comments, disturbed by the pieces of brain littered around the bodies. He even notices pieces of skull lying on the ground. Parts of the faces were gone, the bones, muscles, and tendons in their face showing plain as day. Don can't take it anymore and looks away from the face, trying to find anything that gives answers to their questions. He sees some sorta tattoo peaking from underneath the woman's sleeve, so he pushes it up carefully with his gloved hands. He sucks in air quickly when he sees what the tattoo was. Leo looks over his brother's shoulder to see what caused him to react like that, blocking the bile rising in his throat at the site of the two corpses and is somewhat shocked at what he sees.

A purple dragon tattoo, stretched and somewhat faded with age stared back at him from the woman's arm.

" Purple dragons." Leo whispers to no one in particular.

"Explains the multiple bullet holes." Don comments as he checks the man and sees he also had a purple dragon tattoo on his arm but also a police badge in his wallet. He also notices that both were wearing wedding bands. Upon further inspection of the man's wallet, he finds a picture of the man, woman, and the little girl in the van, all smiling.

"Leo... They're the little girl's parents." Donny says softly. Fist hitting metal is heard behind them. Leo turns around expecting to see Raphael punching something but is surprised to see that it was Michelangelo. Raph puts a hand on the orange-masked turtle in an almost comforting manner.

"Find anything else Don?" Donnie begins to shake his head but stops halfway. There was something abnormal about the watches on the couple's wrists. He reaches over and finds a strange clasp on his watch. Donatello carefully pries it open and a small SD card falls out. Don becomes curious and tries the same thing with the woman's watch and another SD card falls further inspection, on both Sd cards was a turtle engraved on the front. He puts both items in a pouch on his belt along with his gloves after shutting the watches. He couldn't take looking at the bodies anymore. He nods at Leo, signalling that he was done as he stands up. Leo returns the nod and speaks up.

"Alright guys, lets get this girl somewhere safe. There might be Purple Dragons coming back to finish the job. " The others nod and enter the battle-shell, with Donnie driving. Mikey sits beside the girl, completely silent. The others didn't say a thing on the way home either... The dead bodies got to everyone.

 ** _[Back at the Lair]_**

 ** _Donatello's POV_**

We get home relatively fast and I head straight to my lab space as Leo and Mikey tell Master Splinter we had a guest. I did not want to be a part of THAT conversation. Honestly I was curious about what was on the sd cards. But I would wait till the others were ready. Till then, I decided to keep an eye on the police reports to see when the police would come across the bodies. Maybe they will have more information about the little girl's parents. About an hour passes, so I go out to the main room to find my brothers. Mikey was pacing the floor, the little girl lying on the couch that was in front of him. Raph and Leo just watched their brother, very concerned. I motion for them to join me at my computers as I place the Sd cards I found on the parents into it.

"I found these sd cards hidden on her parents." I tell them as I power up my computer. "I took them cuz they had a weird engraving on the front." I put in my security codes and my home screen appears. "It was a turtle of all things." I quickly open up the Sd card folder for the one I found on the dad. On it is a lot of documents and what not. I pull a few up and am shocked about what is on them.

"It's all about the purple dragons, a list of their drop off sites, dock meetings, everything!" I whisper in shock. I remember the badge I found in the husband's wallet. "I think the man was an undercover detective trying to break up the dragons." I tell my brothers as I continue to look through the files. Towards the end I find a folder marked 'mutants'. My curiosity peeked, I open it. Me and my brothers are speechless when we see the contents.

"It's...us..." Mikey whispers in awe. Picture after picture popped up showing us fighting, maps of sightings where we had been seen, our names and personalities. Pretty much everything but where we lived and very little on our father. The most was about Mikey though. There was a another folder marked "To the turtles". I clicked it to see what it held. It was filled with videos of the father, when he was alive. I look back at Leo to see if I should proceed. Leonardo nods in consent. So I click the first video in the folder. It date stamp was from many months ago, titled "For all turtles". I press play and the man's deep baritone could be heard as his face appeared on the screen.

"Leonardo. Raphael. Donatello. Michelangelo... If you are watching this, that means that I was found out and killed. I know my cover can be blown at anytime and you are the only ones who I can trust with this information. " A sad look passes over his eyes. "And the only ones I trust to take care of our daughter Ann Marie." All of us are silent as he talks. This man had blonde hair like his daughter, with chocolate brown eyes that showed kindness.

"I have infiltrated the gang know as the Purple Dragons, and would have brought them down years ago, but thing... changed." He runs a hand through his hair. " I fell in love with one, and soon we were married and expecting a child." A bitter-sweet smile graces his face. "A little girl." He is silent a moment before he begins to speak again.

"My wife was about 3 months pregnant when she was taken from our home. I didn't see her again till about a month before the baby was born. It wasn't till later that I found out that Bishop had taken her. My wife didn't remember much those 5 months she was held captive. She only remembered being fed strange tasting food and having tubes that she assumed were IV's in her arm." He sighs sadly.

"When Marie was born, it was obvious that she wasn't exactly normal. She healed a little quicker than a normal when she got hurt. I know Bishop was experimenting on her when she was in the womb. But I had hoped that he was finished with our little girl... I was wrong." Anger consumes the man, his fist clenching. "When she was two years old he took her again... It was an entire year before we saw her again. Me and my wife had come home... and there she was... unconscious on our doorstep. When she awoke, things were different. She had...changed..." The man's eyes got misty, tears threatening to fall that he blinks back, taking a deep breath.

" She was no longer a normal child...So many changes..." He sighs, taking a deep breath before speaking again.

"I have been following your family closely. If you are seeing this then my plan worked and Ann Marie is safe. That is all I can hope for."

"Daddy?" A little girl's voice calls out from off screen. The man looks over towards the voice with and his face immediately softens. "Coming Akemi ( _ **Her nickname, Japanese for bright beauty**_ ) ". He looks back at the screen. "Please take care of my little girl. I'm entrusting her with you all." The little girl climbs into her dad's lap and waves at the camera, unaware of what the man was preparing it for.

"Who you talwking to Daddy?" she asks him, putting her small arms around his neck. Her father looks at the little girl with a fond smile.

"I'm making a video for the turtles."

"WEALLY?!" The little girl shouts happily. Her father laughs at her enthusiasm.

"That's right." He says. Ann Marie grins happily and turns to the camera, waving viguriously.

"HALLO TERTWLES!" ( ** _NO it's not mis-spelling on my part. Ann Marie is a child, this is how she talks_** ). A huge grin spread across her face. The father tickles the little girl and she laughs, the sound of it not unlike the melody of twinkling bells.

"How about you go snuggle up in your bed and I'll come tell you a story." He tells her, turning her in his arms so they were face-face.

"A tertwle stowy?" She asks him hopefully. He nods his head and grins as she gives him a great big kiss on the cheek before flying out his lap and outta the camera's view. He looks where she disappeared before looking back at the screen, tears building in his eyes.

"We're counting on you. This is Roger Trayton. Over and out." And then the video ends, frozen on the man reaching towards the screen, a single tear falling.

 _ **XXX: This scene was a lot shorter originally. I added more details and my writing is better...I hope lol! XD I hope you guys like this chapter. Its a little heavy, but I promise the whole story isn't this down. It has its up moments. But you were warned that this had angst and tragedy. XP Please tell me what you guys think or feel when reading this. And if i make an mistakes, please let me know. Love you guys SO MUCH! Next chapter coming soon. This is where the story changes from my first attempt writing. See you soon! :D XXX:**_


	4. Chapter three

**_XXX: Okay, so this one is shorter than I was originally gonna make it. But I want what is about to happen have a chapter all to itself. Its a huge part of the story. I'm getting these done much faster than I though I would. See you guys soon. Let me know what you think so far in the comments. LOVE YOU GUYS! 3 XXXX:_**

 ** _Raph's Pov_**

Nobody moved for a while after the video ended. We barely even breathed. The father's face was still on the screen and the thing that got to me was...I actually knew that this man. He was a guy that I saved a few years back when we weren't supposed to go up to the surface at all. I was like 13 then and had hit my rebellious stage that just stuck. I look around to see how the others are doing with this knowledge. That's some messed up stuff, experimenting on kids. Leo and Don look shocked, but it was Mikey that surprised me when I looked at him...

Tears were rolling down Mikey's face in streams. This obviously hit him to the core so I did something that I don't normally do under usual circumstances. (Though these aren't exactly usual circumstances, so there) Mikey just turns his head into my shoulder and wails as I envelope him in a hug, my other brothers soon joining. We stay this way for a while. To be honest, I can't remember the last time we had a group hug like this just to comfort one of us. It was kinda nice even if I would never admit to anyone...EVER!

When Mikey's tears finally stopped, we all continue to hold him, knowing he needed the support right now.

"We're here for ya bro'". I tell him softly, Leo and Donny nodding in agreement. My eyes roam to the little girl still sleeping on our couch and rage begins to fill me at the thought of what Bishop must have done to this innocent little girl. I have a hard time holding it back, but I do it for my brother's sake. He didn't need that just yet.

We all finally separate and Don hands our younger brother and box of tissues that he apparently had at his desk (sometimes I wonder were he keeps all of this junk!) and we settle around the computer once more.

"You sure you wanna continue watching these right now Mikey?" Donny asks, concern for his brother evident in every word. Mikey just nods his head. Don sends one last worried glance at Mikey before clicking the next video. This one is labeled to Donatello, but he plays it anyway. The man appears once again on the screen all of us listen, silent as shadows.

 ** _Master Splinter's POV_**

My sons were unaware of my presence, watching them during that first video. Normally from my distance, I wouldn't be able to hear a single word that Roger man had said. But the lair was so quiet that his voice seemed almost deafening. I had also witnessed my sons comforting Michelangelo at the end. This warmed my heart for it was rare when all my sons showed concern like that for one another. I approach them and watch the next video addressed to my son Donatello with them.

"Hello Donatello." The man begins, he had kind yet hard eyes that said that though he was compassionate, he wasn't a pushover and knew many hardships in life. I simply observe the man as he begins to talk.

"You have probably gone through most of the other folders by now and have an idea of what I've been doing, that is why I left these sd cards in the secret chamber of our watches, for me and my wife knew you were smart enough to figure out the secret compartments. You are very smart Don. I only hope that the information my wife gathered will help you better understand how to treat Ann Marie and all that she's been through." I sense all my sons tense up at the thought of that. It was not something I wanted to hear either, but knew it was detrimental to our care for the little girl sleeping on the couch.

"These videos are like my will, so please treat them as such. I know that you will do so because you value honor and truth. You follow Bushido." The man on the screen smiled slightly at that. "I think that what frustrates Hun and the Shredder the most is your honor. None of you can't be corrupted. " The smile fades soon though, the video continuing. "I wish for you to take out the broken tracker from Marie's neck. I do not have the equipment and while I know hospitals are quite capable at this stuff, I wish for you to do it. I trust you more than some stranger to do an operation on my little girl." A blur of the little girl races across the screen screaming in laughter at something. The man looks at her, shakes his head and smiles. "She also has pretty intense ADHD, so that may be a bit of a problem when you go to teach her. I can't trust her in a normal school after I'm gone because the Purple Dragons will do anything to destroy her. So I am counting on you Donatello to make sure she gets the kind of education she'd receive in a regular school."

"HONEY! DINNER'S READY!" A woman shouts from outside the camera's view. I assume it is the wife when the man answers that he will be right there and ends the video, this time a smile on his face. This one was considerably shorter than the last one, though in a way I am glad of that. Suddenly one of my sons' shell-cells goes off, startling all of us. Donatello pulls out his and answers it.

"What's up April?" He listens to whatever our friend is saying and a look of concern and trepidation settles in his features. "All right April, we'll be there asap. Just keep fighting till we get there. " With that he ends the call and looks at all of us.

"April and Casey were jumped by Bishop's men. Casey is unconscious and April is trying to hold them all off on her own."

"Let's go!" My eldest son Leonardo says quickly, all of them heading to the elevator to the garage/warehouse that holds the vehicles that Donatello has created. I watch in fear as my sons leave, a pre-notion that something life-altering was going to happen and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to stop it.


	5. chapter four

_**XXXXX: HEY! its me. As those who may have read my other fanfic "Alex's Story" you will notice that it is gone. I have deleted it cuz i wanted to focus on just one story for now. plus i really didn't like the way the story was coming out. it wasnt the way i wanted my story to be. i will try to post more chapters more often. no promises though lol. love u guys and keep on loving TMNT XD. XXXXXXXX**_

 _ **Leo's POV**_

As my brothers and I begin to file into the Battle-Shell, Master Splinter stays in the lair with the girl. We didn't want to leave her alone, not after what she has gone through tonight. Think of the dead bodies begins to make me worry that we will be too late to save April and Casey. There's only so much one can do against guns...

 _"Please be ok..."_ I silently hope as Don races us through the night so we can rescue our friends. Don avoids main streets to get us there quicker. Usually at this point Michelangelo tries to diffuse the tension and worry with being his usually rambunctious self. But Mikey stays silently for once, which is worrisome. I think the events of tonight have affected him pretty badly. Sure we see some pretty bad stuff on the news or internet, but coming across that out of the blue... You'd have to be heartless to not be affected somehow.

I look to the front of the van and see that Raph is sitting up there with Don, talking to April on her shell-cell while Don drives to their location. At least we know their still alive. But if we don't get there soon, they may not be much longer...

"Hey Donnie, how much further?" I inquire, walking up towards the front. I needed something to distract me from the dark thoughts invading my mind.

"We're a few blocks away now." He informs, narrowly avoiding another car as he swears through the roads. "Leo, we are gonna have to be cautious when we reach them. April said that when they were first attacked there were only a few EPF but now there are at least 5 squads. I'm not sure we can take on that many with just nun-chucks and Bo staffs." Don insists before taking a hard right, almost causing me to loose my balance.

"Alright then, " I say loudly so all my brothers can hear me. "This will be a grab-and-go mission. Try to avoid combat as much as possible and just get April and Casey to safety. This is probably a trap so stay alert when we get there guys." I look at each of my brothers who all nod in understatement as to our plan of attack.

Finally we arrive to the location the GPS tracker in the April's shell-cell was pinpointed. We seemed to have arrived at recently abandoned neighborhood. There were bits and pieces of houses standing here and there, and lots of debris. Parts of other peoples' lives could be see scattered all around. If I remember correctly, this is the neighborhood when a bomb took out a lot of houses and lives a couple of weeks ago. It's strange that Casey and April came this way. It's not exactly in one of the better parts of the city. Lots of gangs and mob people are generally in this area.

I shake my head to refocus. There will be plenty of time to ask April or Casey questions later. Right now I need to focus on getting them out of here alive. I do a quick scan of the area and quickly spot April fighting off some of Bishop's men. Thankfully they were fighting April with batons and hand-to-hand combat. Means we wont have to try and dodge bullets while getting them. Now Donnie had said there was at least 5 squads of men here, but I could only see enough men to equal a single squad. Which means that the others were lying in wait for us to arrive.

"The other men are in hiding. Be careful guys, they could have guns." I instruct them as Donatello gets us closer to the fight. I tell them that Casey was located a bit further back in what was left of a house. "Be safe and remember, stay alert to all threats." I command just before throwing open the door to the battle-shell and leaping out into the fight, my brothers right behind me. April grins tiredly as we fight through the men to reach her, their numbers increasing greatly since we arrived, just as I had thought they would.

"About time-... you guys-...showed up.." She huffs, knocking a few of the men unconscious with a round house kick. My brothers and I form a circle around her as we try to make our way towards Casey through the swarm of EPF men, but it was no use. There is just too many of them. There was no way the we would all be able to get near him. But to my left I see a space where me and one of my brothers could get through with a quick blitz attack there. It was the enemy's weakest point.

"RAPH!" I shout, getting his attention. When he looks at me I gesture towards the weak point. "Cover me so I can grab Casey!" Raph nods, and quickly we plow through to Casey. I finally reach Casey inside the remains of the house and quickly do a quick check for his pulse and any broken bones. I don't worry about being attacked, trusting Raph to have my back. Plus none of the men were over here. Thankfully I find Casey's pulse and find that he had a broken arm and a few cracked ribs, so I am gonna have to be careful when I carry him.

I begin to pick Casey up, cradling him in my arms when I hear Raphael scream my name. Suddenly I feel myself being thrown over a small brick enclosure that was probably once a chimney. I want to stand up and see what was going on, who had thrown me and why. But before I could even begin to move, an explosion goes off, I feel the force of the displaced area and hear debris hitting the chimney I was tucked behind even through the ringing in my ears. I hunch over Casey to protect him from the debris that flies over the bricks encasing us.

When the debris finally settles, I slowly uncurl myself from around Casey. I have no idea whats going on or what happened or what was going on, the blast temporarily making me deaf.

" _Are my brothers ok? Did they get hurt? Why was there an explosion? Who caused it_?"

Carefully I stand, a little shaken and look around to find Raph, hoping he got away before the blast. Where I had been standing before was nothing but a giant hole in the ground. I glance behind me and see silver shining from the little bit of moonlight peeping through the dark and ominous clouds.

" _Is that...Raph's s-sais?!"_ I think in fear. Just then my hearing comes back a little bit and I can hear screaming...

" _Where...?"_ I turn a bit more and pale in fear. I see Mikey frantically moving bricks and debris from a pile. I look and see a green hand, barely visible, lying on the ground, protruding from behind the wall of rubble. I am in such shock I barely register when Donatello takes Casey out of my arms and begins to take him to the Battle-Shell. I finally snap outta the shock when Mikey struggles to lift a beam out of the way. Quickly I race over there and help him. But when we move the last thing blocking Raph from us, I didn't want to believe what I saw.

Raphael laid there on the ground, still covered in some rubble and debris, but that's not what worried me... No,...there was a... a... I feel bile rising in my throat as I look at my brother. A large piece of shrapnel had pierced through just above his carapace, going in a vertical line, cutting through part of his throat. As turtles, and mutant ones at that, we have more layers of tough skin and muscles protecting our esophagus and larynx... But this piece of shrapnel was close to killing him. My hearing has returned enough that I am able to hear Mikey's frantic babbling now.

"RAPH! Come on man, stay with me! You cant die on me bro!" He says, crying in hysteria. I begin to shake, completely terrified for my brother's life. Then I hear Donatello's voice from the Battle-Shell doorway, April sitting in the front seat with the engines already running.

"Bring him to the Battle-Shell NOW! We have to leave if we want to save him!" He shouts. I force myself to focus and place a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "We need to get him to the van Mikey." I tell him softly. Mikey wipes at his eyes and nods. We quickly grab our unconscious brother and carefully carry him towards the Battle-Shell. When no men tried to attack us, I take a glance around. It seems that the explosion spooked off most of Bishop's men, for no one tried to stop us from leaving.

Mikey and me finally reach the Battle-Shell and lay Raphael down on a bench not occupied by Casey, who remained unconscious as well. I begin to shake as I go into shock once more. Raph could really die... I mean, sure we have all be close to death, but never like this...

April pulls away from the abandoned neighborhood and I go up to the front and contact Master Splinter so that the medical bay is prepared for Donnie and Raph once we get there. The only one that can help Raph now is Donatello and Father... I take another glance at my brother lying there with metal protruding from his chest, Mikey sitting by Raph's head, constantly talking to him. It was this sight that made me begin to wonder if I was going to lose a brother tonight...

 _ **Mikey's POV**_

"Come on Raph, don't be a wuss and die on us now." I say, not even knowing if Raph could hear me. But it made me feel a bit better. I'm still shaken up from it all. This night has just been one bad thing to another. A part of me is hoping that this is all just a really bad dream, that I'll wake up and my brother will be just fine.

The entire way to the lair I continue to murmur to Raphael. It was the only way I was going to stay sane, the only thing keeping me from breaking down right now. I watch as Don works to keep Raph alive, and I begin to wish that I could help him. I feel so helpless right now... If Raph dies...

"Please don't leave us Raph..." I whisper quietly so no one can hear me. "Please don't die..."


	6. Chapter five

**_April's Pov_**

It's excruciating driving to the lair, not knowing how the two injured are doing. All I can think is horribly dark thought _. 'What if they die?', 'What if Donnie cant save them?'...'What if we are too late to help?'..._ It just keeps gnawing at me. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to see the warehouse. I quickly park inside it along with the other vehicles that the turtles owned and created.

Don and Mikey carry out Raph on a gurney Donnie made, trying to get Raph help as fast as possible. On the way here Donnie had asked me to tend to Casey's wounds while they did focused on Raph since Raph was in critical condition. I agreed so I follow when Leo pick up Casey and began to head for the elevator with the others.

Master Splinter is already waiting for us at the elevator and quickly helps Don and Mikey get Raph into the medical bay, me and Leo close behind. Once inside I notice equipment that I have never seen in here before. Then again, we've never had this kind of emergency before. Not this severe.

Leo places Casey on a separate med bed and leaves the room, Mikey not far behind now that Master Splinter and Donatello had begun to tend to Raph's wound. I follow example and I start to tend to Casey's wounds. I bandaged his head where it had split open, it being shallow enough to not need stitches or staples. I put antibiotics on the open wounds of his face and carefully splint his left arm. Thankfully it was a clean break. The hard part was wrapping his chest so to minimize his movement so his ribs could heal, but I managed.

I don't know how long it took me to make sure that Casey was completely taken care of. But when I look up to check on Raph, Donnie begins to take out the shrapnel and start performing surgery on Raphael's throat. While I stared, Master Splinter meets my eyes, and motions me over. So I approach, strangely unable to look away from the bloody mess of Raph's neck and chest.

"We could use an extra set of hands. " He says gentle, snapping me out of my stupor. Shaking my head to clear it, I agree and put on a pair of gloves, a mask, and scrubs over my clothes. I start to pray silently to whoever was listening as we begin the fight to save Raphael's life.

 ** _MIKEY'S POV_**

"Do you think Raph's gonna be okay Leo?" I ask tentatively. I couldn't stop pacing back and forth not far from the medical bay. Leo sits on the floor, leaning against the was as he stares down at his shaking hands. Apparently I'm not the only one still in shock.

"I don't know Mikey." Leo says softly before looking up at me, the pain in his eyes mirroring my own. "All we can do is hope and believe in Don and Master Splinter." I sigh, exhausted yet too anxious and worried to rest. So I just continue my pacing.

Minute by infinitely long minute goes by. Thoughts and memories keep flooding through my head. Regrets, wishes, hope, all mixed together with helplessness. There was nothing I can do but wait. In an attempt to pass the time I try to read some of my comics, but I couldn't focus so I give up and go back to pacing. Soon minutes turn into hours and I begin to fear the worst. I was just about to go barging into the medical bay to find out whats going on when Master Splinter, April, and finally, Donatello comes out. Me and my brother Leo quickly walks over to our family, eager for news. Don speaks before we can begin to bombard them with questions.

"Raph is stable..." Don sighs tiredly, strain in his voice. "But he's in a coma. There is no telling if he will ever wake up at all." I instantly feel my hopes fall. We... we might lose our brother after all?... Don starts talking again as I start to spiral into despair.

"It's all up to him right now whether he wakes up or not... There is nothing more I can do..." Don's eyes tear up and a hic-up escapes from his lips. Sensei puts a comforting hand on Donatello's shoulder.

"You have done well Son. You brother will pull through this. He is very strong willed and stubborn." The comment makes all of us give a small quirk of a smile. If anyone was stubborn enough to defy Death, it would be Raph. Master Splinter sighs after a moment.

"We all need some rest after tonight. Get some sleep. We have a new responsibility in our lives as well." He says, gesturing towards the sleeping child. " I shall stay awake and keep an eye on Raphael." Donatello and April both murmur sleepily before heading to their rooms. But me and Leo stayed behind. Master Splinter made a motion for us to follow as he heads to his room with the Japanese door. Once inside, Master Splinter begins to pour some cups of tea.

"This will help calm your nerves my sons." He says as he hands us a cup. A calming scent rises from the cup and I take a sip. As the warmth from the liquid spread through my body, I begin to truly feel relaxed. As we each finished our tea, several minutes of silence pass before father breaks said silence.

"Would you mind telling me how... how Raphael was injured?" Master Splinter inquires, slightly hesitant. I see Leo down at his empty cup upset.

"I do not know Sensei. I-...I-..." Leo tries to continue to speak but can't, tears spilling from his eyes. Master Splinter reassures Leo silently, letting him know that it is ok with his eyes. I hesitate to speak but do so anyways.

"I-..I saw what happened." I look at Leo and worry if I should say anything right now. Even I know that there are times to talk about things and times to wait. As if sensing my concerns, Master splinter speaks.

"I think it would put both me and Leo's minds at ease if we knew how this all came to be." He says softly. Leo nods.

"I agree with Sensei. I would like to know what happened as well." I sigh, not wanting to relive the moment, but knew that this was something that needed to be done. So with a shaky breath I tell them what I had seen.

"I remember seeing Raph fighting to keep the guys away from Leo while he checked on Casey. I guess that he saw something because suddenly he threw Leo over this brick thing that looked kinda like a chimney and then...then..." I take a deep breath and continue. "Then there was an explosion. I saw Raph get thrown back and get buried behind the debris. An-..." I go quiet, not sure if I should mention the next thing.

"What is it my son?" Sensei asks gentle.

"I... I could have sworn I seen Bishop watching from on top of a roof a few houses down. But then he.. well he just just vanished like he was never there!... " I look at Leo and begin to worry. Leo was holding his tea cup so tight it was beginning to crack. Master Splinter gently takes the cup from Leo's vise-like grip.

"Thank you Michelangelo. We appreciate knowing what had happened. You should probably get some rest now..." Master Splinter begins to put away the cups and tea pot. "We all should..." he says softly. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, no matter how tired I felt. So I head to the medical bay door, hesitating a moment before I enter. It may be a long shot, but if talking to Leo worked to get him out of his coma, maybe it will work this time too... It's better than doing nothing. So with that decided, I grab a chair and pull it up by my hot-headed brother's head and begin to talk softly.

"Do you remember-..."...


End file.
